The London Times reported this week that the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus is under investigation by the U.K. Serious Fraud Office (SFO) for allegations of bribery and corruption in passenger plane sales. This new investigation comes on the heels of reports earlier this year that the company was negotiating with the SFO for failing to inform authorities of the use of certain third-party agent’s sales. Those sales were backed by the U.K. government’s export financing agency, U.K. Export Finance, which is similar to the U.S. Export-Import Bank. This new investigation expands on those initial disclosures by Airbus to the SFO.
